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Well you have to remember most of the OT weapons were modified military surplus items, making them seem blockier, while the PT had a larger team of concept designers so the weapon desgins are a little more "refined".

Its funny how the timeline and continuity are reversed...with the prequils having the "newer, shinier" stuff...

Hydra said:

Well you have to remember most of the OT weapons were modified military surplus items, making them seem blockier, while the PT had a larger team of concept designers so the weapon desgins are a little more "refined".

I think the rifle is just plain TNG though...no arguements here. I'm going for sort of a post clone war thing anyway, so the pistols might fit w/ what I'm doing. I just don't want to do another Nerf mod. The ones that have been done are rad, but I think they're just not for me.

And yet Jango's Westars have neither of those qualities. One might argue that most of the prequel trilogy guns are far more refined looking than original trilogy. Maybe I'll post some examples later.

Take note of the fact that I said "generally," which translates into "for the MOST part." Not always. Of course there are exceptions to the rule, but if you take a look at Star Wars weaponry, PT or OT, you will find that most retain a blocky shape. For example:

When looking at weaponry Post Clone Wars it seems as if the Empire stopped contruction of weaponry other than for their soldiers, and that Rebels were forced to take old, worn out weapons or build new from scratch. That is how I can explain the sudden downgrade of weaponry outside of the Empire.

When looking at weaponry Post Clone Wars it seems as if the Empire stopped contruction of weaponry other than for their soldiers, and that Rebels were forced to take old, worn out weapons or build new from scratch. That is how I can explain the sudden downgrade of weaponry outside of the Empire.

Exactly...non-SW people are always asking why the ships and everything in the prequels look better than the ships from 20 years "later".
The reason is that except for the Empire, the galaxy has fallen on hard times.
THe Imperials are the only ones with any real power, money, or access to new technology. When you think about the Naboo ships all streamlined and chrome in epI, and condiser that Naboo was one of the richest planets in the Republic (them and Alderaan), it makes sense. The only planet in the Empire that has the kind of dollars that Naboo had in TOS is Imperial Coruscant, and the EU stories made it clear that outside the Imperial Palace, Coruscant was like New Orleans and Kowloon all rolled into one. No wonder most of the ships and weapons we see in TOC look like tossed-together junk. THe Empire had a stranglehold on the money and the manufacturing. The first thing a dictator does is disarm the populace, then instill enough poverty to make revolution economically difficult...but not so much poverty that revolution becomes mandatory.

nicely said...also in order for the Empire to commission the overwhelming numbers of fleet vehicles and ordinance, it would need inexpensive, no frills solutions, i.e. TIE fighters looking like broke Ep.III jedi-starfighters, and raw looking rifles.

Exactly...non-SW people are always asking why the ships and everything in the prequels look better than the ships from 20 years "later".
The reason is that except for the Empire, the galaxy has fallen on hard times.
THe Imperials are the only ones with any real power, money, or access to new technology. When you think about the Naboo ships all streamlined and chrome in epI, and condiser that Naboo was one of the richest planets in the Republic (them and Alderaan), it makes sense. The only planet in the Empire that has the kind of dollars that Naboo had in TOS is Imperial Coruscant, and the EU stories made it clear that outside the Imperial Palace, Coruscant was like New Orleans and Kowloon all rolled into one. No wonder most of the ships and weapons we see in TOC look like tossed-together junk. THe Empire had a stranglehold on the money and the manufacturing. The first thing a dictator does is disarm the populace, then instill enough poverty to make revolution economically difficult...but not so much poverty that revolution becomes mandatory.

Wow...that was long. I'll shut up now.

It's a nice theory, to be sure. But if you actually do pay attention to EU (which I do), you will notice that the Galaxy was not such a poverty-stricken place during the reign of the Empire. Take a look at the vehicles and the like produced by Kuat Drive Yards; shiny, smooth, etc.

If Lucas was smart at all, he would have worked with what he had, even in the EU (such as Z-95 Headhunters, Dreadnaughts, Victory-Class Star Destroyers, etc). But no, instead, he just *had* to use lame SR-71 Blackbird rip-offs.

"During the Galactic Civil War, the Empire produced hundreds of AT-ATs. Components for these vehicles originated with numerous companies, but assembley of the vehicles was carefully monitored by Imperials at secret Kuat Drive Yards factories."
-The New Essential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels

KDY did not produce AT-ATs. The Empire basically constructed them at KDY facilities, but KDY had no hand in the components, or even the design. That credit goes to then-Commander Maximilian Veers, who resurrected the AT-AT concept.

The Galaxy had plenty of money, especially enough to construct millions of different starships. Look at the Mon Calamari; the very ships which they provided that provided the backbone of the Alliance fleet began life as luxury cruisers. And the Mon Calamari had thousands, if not more, than that. These ships were smooth, organic-looking, definately elegant in nature. If you're in a depression-type era where materials are scarce, you avoid things like elegance. Maybe not shiny, but smooth.
The A-Wing; also not shiny, per se, but smooth. Sleek. This craft was bult for speed, and it shows.

And here's a semi-off-topic question: who the hell paints their fighters yellow? Isn't that just screaming "Im here! Shoot me!"